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Veteran playmaker Mark Bresciano may have played his last World Cup game after being taken off injured in Australia’s 3-2 loss to the Netherlands.
Bresciano was replaced by for Oliver Bozanic in the 51st minute when not looking quite at ease, later revealing an issue with his hip flexor was the problem.
A back complaint hampered the 34-year-old’s preparations for the Brazil tournament but he managed to play through the pain in Australia’s opener against Chile last week.
But with the Socceroos now unable to progress from the group stage and only five days before their final clash against Spain it appears unlikely coach Ange Postecoglou would risk further damage to Bresciano.
Midfielder Mark Milligan was ruled out before the Netherlands clash and will also be racing the clock to be fit for Monday’s (Tuesday AEST) match against Spain.
“There was a little concern injury-wise. It’s my hip flexor,” Bresciano said.
“I probably wasn’t 100 per cent but hopefully I will get back for the next game against Spain.”
Bresciano, playing in his third and final World Cup, hailed the Socceroos performance against the Dutch as among their most spirited.
“We did put them under pressure a lot and they probably got surprised with the way we played our football,” he said.
“But back in the change rooms we were all disappointed because we believed we could have got a result out of today.
“Seeing what they did against Spain and what they did four years ago getting to the final. So that was definitely a very gutsy performance from us.”
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